


The Visitor

by BB_Roin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Forget s08, Fuck Canon, M/M, POV Multiple, Post-Season/Series 07, Time to use the power of fanon to save world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 09:59:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16972479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BB_Roin/pseuds/BB_Roin
Summary: The man standing before them makes no sense.Or, an alternative Keith appears. No one knows how to handle this.Inspired by@zuspacey's amazingwork.





	The Visitor

**Author's Note:**

> S03E04 never happens.  
>  ~~S08 is here but I can't handle it so I write this. STRESS WRITING.~~  
>  No beta.
> 
> Add after s8:  
> I guess I'll have a lot of stress writings for a while.  
> Let's pretend s8 never happens.  
> And I'm kind of in need of a beta. If anyone is interested, feel free to contact ;)

**1- Iverson**

The man standing before them makes no sense.

He looks like Kogane.

He looks _exactly_ like Kogane.

But the cast-out-cadet-turned-universe-saviour Iverson is both fortunate and unfortunate enough to be acquaintance with is also standing in front of him, with one arm around his doppelganger to support the man, all the while trying to stifle the most perplexed expression Iverson has ever seen on his face. 

There are _two_ Kogane in front of him.

_God helps them._

"Well, this is unexpected..."

The man wearing Kogane's face chuckled weakly. He is almost leaning entirely on Kogane. There is blood on his face. There might be more but it is hard to tell as his strange dark armor, which is similar to what Iverson has seen the Blades wearing, covers most of his body.

Now Iverson has more time to take in the details, he notices the two aren't precisely identical. Apart from their outfits, the stranger is older and maybe one or two inches taller, the scar on his face is on the wrong side, and somehow he has a braid. 

"What the _quiznak_?" He hears McClain grasps next to him. The other Paladins are there too, each of them has the same stunned expression.

The man let out a choking sound. His dark violet eyes widen and become solely focused on one person. Iverson follows his stare and finds Captain Shirogane standing there in shock.

The man's mouth moves, but he faints before he can utter a word. 

Iverson gets to meet him again after the medics call it cleared, this time with only Kolivan, the Leader of the Blade of Marmora, and Princess Allura. The others watch them behind cameras. Iverson doesn't know how he ends up being the representative of Earth for this interrogation, and personally he would rather not. The other two do the most of the talking anyway. 

The man, who claims himself to be _Keith_ , is apparently from _an alternative reality_. A reality where Altean is the evil one instead. The Princess looks shaken. Iverson may have been shocked too, but at this point he has long given up and just braces and accepts whatever throws to his face. Dealing with all the alien craps tends to do that to a man.

"I'm looking for someone." _Keith_ says, sitting up on the hospital bed. He looks fragile and almost feminine in the way his long hair loose around his slender shoulders, but Iverson knows for a fact that any Keith Kogane could be lethal regardless of how they look. "I'm looking for Takashi Shirogane."

And Iverson isn't even surprised. He feels his left eye- or what is left of it- twitching.

"But Shiro is- " The Princess starts. 

"Not _this_ Shiro." This Keith says, "I'm looking for _mine_ Shiro."

Iverson pretends he hasn't noticed how he pronounces that word.

 

**2- Krolia**

_This Keith is raised among the Blades._

_This Keith is raised as a Blade._

Krolia doesn't how she should feel about it. _Confusion, anger, horror, worry, curious, doubt-_ There are too many emotions mixed together and she cannot pick which one is the strongest. 

She wants answers, so she seeks him out. 

But the way he looks at her...

"I died, didn't I?"

Subtle is never her style and either Keith's. She doubts it will change just because he is from another universe. 

"Yes." 

The way he murmurs the answer breaks Krolia's heart, and she finds herself sitting beside him and holding him tight. He might be older and more mature and might not be _hers_ , but Krolia doesn't care at the moment. 

Keith leans into her instantly and desperately. 

"You took me and Pop with you when you left Earth." He tells her later, with Krolia still hugging him, "Kolivan wasn't happy, but he let us stay. Pop was never a Blade but he helped with a lot of missions, he might end up being the first honorary one if..."

He takes a deep breath.

"It wasn't even a mission. You two got a day-off when you finished your mission much sooner. Pop had found this desert planet he wanted to show us. I couldn't go with you because I was at a different outpost at that time. You promised to bring me gifts when you were back." 

Krolia holds him just a little tighter when she feels his tremble.

"But you never come back. The Altean Empire burned down the whole planet. No one had expected it. That planet had nothing they could gain and had submitted to them a long time ago. We'd hoped you had escaped, but we've waited for quintants and phoebs and _deca-phoebs_ -"

"Oh, Keith..."

"I did my trails after that." Keith says, "They didn't like it, saying I was too young, but I _did_ it."

He stares at midair for a while.

"I miss you so much. Both of you." He whispers.

There are so many questions Krolia wants to ask but she cannot find the strength to voice them. _Did the other Blades treat you well? Are you a pack? How did you get your scar? Were we happy? Are you happy?_

Rather than asking any of those, Krolia says:

"I'm proud of you." 

 

**3- Keith**

"Hi." 

"Hi."

Then silence lays between them as both of them proceed to study each other.

It's quite unnerving to see yourself staring back at you when there is no mirror involved.

To be honest, Keith has absolutely no idea of what he should do. People normally will never meet their counterpart from another reality. The man in front of him, despite they are wearing the same face and bearing the same name, is a total stranger to him. But at the same time, Keith feels he knows everything about him.

Their staring match ends when The Wolf teleports himself right between them. This startles his alternative self greatly as the man immediately reaches for his blade. Keith quickly steps forward and holds back The Wolf who is busy wagging his tail at the two. The last thing he needs is his double accidentally skewering his loyal partner.

"You have a space wolf." The other Keith says, watching them curiously.

"You don't?" 

The other shakes his head. 

"What's his name?"

"We don't know yet, but the others keep calling him Cosmo."

"They should wait for him to tell them."

Keith decides he likes his double.

 

**4- Lance**

Lance can't help but feel a shiver when he sees _two_ Keith sitting at the cafeteria, side by side.

Everyone is looking at them but none of them dares approach, which ends up creating a vacant space around the two. Lance doesn't blame them. Keith is famous _and_ infamous here. It doesn't help that the way the other Keith holds himself practically screams _alien_ and _danger_.

Lance signs and drags himself to step forward, all the while wondering what he has done that offends God so much that he is stuck with not just one Keith but now _two_ in his life.

As he getting closer he hears what the two are discussing, and Lance can't help but sign again.

_Trust Keith to bond with his alternative twin over combat tactics._

"Hello, twin mullets."

Lance greets them and regrets instantly. _Crap, is this Galra Keith going to take this as an insult and slain him for it?_ But thankfully the other Keith just shows him an amused smile while their Keith gives a light scowl. 

"Hello to you too, Lance." Galra Keith greets back.

"I guess this means we know each other? I mean, in your reality."

"We are in the same rebel group." The alternative Keith answers dismissively, eyes looking around, "Where is your pig? I didn't see it at the training deck. Shouldn't he be with you?"

" _Why_ would I have a pig?"

Galra Keith shrugs his shoulders. "I've been wondering the same question for a while now."

Lance really, really wants to ask for details. But one of his old Garrison friends comes looking for him so he leaves to talk with them for a bit. When he comes back, Krolia is there too, right next to their Keith, which means now there are _three_ Keith-faces inside this small cafeteria.

Lance decides it's too much for him to handle and walks away.

 

**5- Allura**

_Is this how Keith had felt?_

Allura has been wondering the same thing ever since Keith from another world tells her what has happened in his universe. An Altean Empire that rules and pains the whole world just like the Galra Empire here does. 

Allura remembers how she had treat Keith back when the first time his Galran heritage was revealed, and feels those guilt and shame bubbling up inside her once again.

She has always been proud to be an Altean, been a member of a race known for their pacifistic nature, and she had thought nothing could change it. But after Lotor, after Haggar, and now a horrible alternative world, she isn't so sure anymore. 

Everyone keeps telling her that she is not responsible for what happens in another reality, even Keith from the said universe tells her the same. Her mind knows it too that she isn't the one to be blamed, but she just can't stop thinking about it. 

She copes with it by working with Coran and Earth's engineers to find a way to send their visitor back to his home universe. The alternative Keith helps them, but he couldn't do much except providing some signals that they could use to send out and hope the other end will pick them up.

"I'm scared." 

Allura admits to him when they are the only two left in the lab. She feels his gaze on her but she doesn't trust herself to look back.

"It scares me, to think I could become just like Zarkon."

"You are not Zarkon, Princess. I doubt you will ever be." His voice, so much like their Keith's, speaks in a calm and gentle manner, "You are hailed as the best Empress the universe could ask for since the history begins, even those suffer at the hand of the Empire admit it wasn't bad when you were the ruler." He pauses a little, "But power corrupts people's hearts, Princess."

"What if it truly happens one day? That my people or myself become the thing we hate most."

"Well... You either stop yourself or be stopped by the others. Technically it is what we have been doing so far." He says it as a matter of fact.

And Allura finds it oddly comforting. 

She takes a deep breath.

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

 

**6- Shiro**

He thought it was Keith, but on second glance it becomes obvious it is not _Keith_.

It's the Keith from another world that Shiro has been avoiding ever since he learns whom the man is looking for. For some reason he is wearing Keith's casual clothes instead of his own armor and that's why Shiro mistakes him in the first place. When he wears the same outfit as Keith, their apparent differences render to only the position of the scar and the existence of the braid.

He is standing at Shiro's door.

"You are avoiding me." 

_Guess Keith's straightforwardness is a multi-universal thing._

"Sorry about that." There is no point denying it. "I thought you would feel better if no one is there to remind you of... _him_."

"It doesn't really make a difference." He shrugs, but Shiro hears what's left unsaid: _because I still think about him._

"They made contact with the other side today." This Keith continues, "They plan to try to open the gate tomorrow, and if everything goes fine this will be my last day in this universe."

"That's great to hear." Shiro is genially happy for him. He might appear to be on ease in these past few days, but if he is anything like Keith Shiro knows, it is probably just a façade he puts up to hide his inner turmoil. 

"Thanks." The violet eyes that are exactly the same like Keith's look straight at him, "As I said, this will probably be my last day here, so I figure it's time I speak with you."

"Oh. Uh, and it is about...?" Now Shiro is nervous. What could possibly be that _this_ Keith wants to discuss with _him_? Though he feels he should know the answer.

Keith beats him to it. "You and the other me."

Now Shiro is definitely on edge.

Keith crosses his arms and taps his fingers lightly against his elbows. It is the exact same habit their Keith has gained when he is trying to pick his words. 

"I've talked about a lot of things with the other me, and I've heard _a lot_. You two are... much more similar to us than I'd thought." He says with a small frown on his face. And Shiro doesn't have to ask to know who are the 'us' he is referring to. "I'm not sure where I'm standing here, but... The other me has been a great help. And, well, if this is how having a twin feels like it doesn't feel bad. So I'm doing him a favor."

He closes his eyes, when he reopens them there is something too bright that makes Shiro almost flinch.

"The other you. He has my heart and soul."

Shiro is too shocked to react.

"To see him risking his life... is as well as handing over my own heart."

"I can say the same." Shiro whispers without realizing it, more to himself than to the other. He remembers the crushing devastation he'd felt when all the lions fell from the sky. It is something that's going to haunt him forever in the rest of his life.

"And you should always keep that in mind."

There is tiresome in the other's voice that makes Shiro want to comfort him out of instinct, but he manages to hold back. 

"I will." He promises, and he means it. When the war ends- _if it is going to end-_ he'd rather both he and Keith come out alive and well instead of being two souls broken over each other.

The Keith in front of him gives him a piercing look. Shiro feels it's time to change the topic.

"So, uh, you and the other me..." 

Shiro flushes, unable to go on.

"Well, we are older than you two, so we've had more time to figure things out." As if to prove it, Keith raises his left hand. Shiro just now notices he is not wearing gloves anymore, and- And- Wow, Shiro's heart must jump out of his chest for a moment when his eyes find the little golden ring resting on the other's finger.

"You two are- You are-" _Engaged? Married?_ But Shiro is having trouble controlling his words, and the images of _his_ Keith wearing _his_ ring suddenly popping here and there in his head are not helping at all. 

"Yeah." Keith says with a soft smile, it melts Shiro's heart a little.

"C-Congratulations?"

"Huh, thanks, though you can save that to yourselves when it's _your_ turn." A familiar smile creeps on his face, and Shiro recognizes it. Someone is going to be in trouble. "You know, maybe you should try to persuade the other me to get a braid too. The other you like slipping his hands through my hair."

Shiro's face _burns_. And the culprit just laughs and slips out of his room with ease and grace.

_God, in either world Keith is still the death of him._

 

**7- Matt**

The gate to alternative world turns out to be a human-size wormhole. Matt is both disappointed and relieved for this fact. 

The adventurer part of him has a desire to jump through it himself instead of watching someone jump through it. Because, hey, this is _alternative realities_ we're talking about. 

Then a man walks _out_ of it.

Matt doesn't recognize him at first, and when he does he can't stop gawking like everyone else. How strange and weird it is, that the lack of white hair and prosthetic arm makes Shiro less-Shiro instead of the other way around.

This Shiro isn't totally unscratched, though. The huge scar across his right face makes Matt wonder how the man manages to keep his eye or it is just a prosthesis.

" _Shiro?_ "

The alternative Keith inhales sharply, his eyes get so big like he was seeing stars for the first time. 

Then he practically _flies_ himself at the newcomer. The alternative Shiro opens his arms just as eager and holds and hugs Keith so tight that it looks like he is crushing him. _Wow this is so sweet, so endearing to see-_

And then they are kissing.

_Screw it. Matt does not need to see this at all._

" _I knew it._ " Katie grins dangerously next to him.

Matt glances at where their Shiro and Keith are and finds the two blushing fiercely and refusing to look at their alternative selves or, in fact, anyone. Just thinking about how much he could tease them afterwards makes Matt grins with his sister.

"Can't say I'm surprised, sis." 

" _Get your asses back here! It's going to close now!_ " A voice sounds suspiciously like Katie's shouts from the other side of the wormhole. The two lovebirds break their sloppy kiss at this.

"We should go." Lovebird Keith says with grasps, arms still around the other's neck.

"Yeah." Lovebird Shiro is no better as he seems to be in a daze. He finally turns and addresses the stunned audience with what's left of his self-consciousness. "Thanks for taking care of him." 

They barely raise their hand to wave goodbye before the wormhole closes itself with them.

There is a moment of silence.

"Sooooooooo-" Lance slowly turns around, facing the most embarrassed two among them, "Don't tell me you two dumb-heads are still going to keep dancing around each other after you've seen _that_."

"Well, about that..." Shiro chuckles weakly, and Keith is busying keeping his head down like he wants to dig into the earth right here right now. "We- Uh, actually, we..."

Everyone watches as he slowly but surely wraps his human arm around Keith's waist. 

_Wow, maybe Matt should have given them more credits._

"Wait, _what_? Whaaaaaat!?" Lance shrieks. " _Since when?!_ "

"Since forever?" Hunk suggests in a small voice.

"Don't say it! Let's make a bet first!" Katie votes.

"All my teeth are going to fall out at this rate." Matt declares as everyone starts making their bet, "I'm officially out of this." He then turns to Shiro, "Just inform me when you guys have the wedding date, so I can start planning your bachelor party."

He runs fast enough to make sure Shiro's arm cannot catch upon him.

 

 

Fin.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Yeah I'm totally stress writing here. I'm probably going to regret this when I'm sober enough.
> 
> You can find me on twitter [@bb_roin](https://twitter.com/bb_roin) :D
> 
>  
> 
> ~~Season 08? Never heard of it. I have a bunch of fix-it fics ready to write bitch.~~  
>  Again, kind of in need of a beta. If anyone is interested, feel free to contact ;)


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